Sweat

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE OCAA

FALL 2016

IN ITS DEBUT SEASON

RUGBY SEVENs RESISTANCE EXERCISES

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PRESIDENT’S NOTE

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would like to welcome all our readers to this edition of the OCAA’s premier source of the world of collegiate sport. A big thank you goes out to both Humber College & Algonquin College and their respective journalism programs for continued support of athletics and academics with the publication of sweat magazine.

It’s that time of year again when the fields and gyms of colleges across Ontario are abuzz with action in what aims to be another history setting year in the OCAA. We are proud to be celebrating the OCAA’s 50th season this year as we have come a long way from our humble beginnings in 1967 with thousands of student-athletes competing in 17 sports representing 29 institutions across Ontario. Watch for the 50th season celebrations at all OCAA events this year.

As we approach the next 50 seasons we look to our student athletes as our leaders of tomorrow enhancing their educational experience through sport and holding true to the commitment to not only themselves but their respective teams and schools.

You are the OCAA – so get out and catch some great collegiate sport – you definitely won’t be disappointed.

I would also like to extend our sincere thanks to all those schools who have played host to our fall championships; these experiences will stay with all involved for the rest of their lives.

On behalf the OCAA, its central office, executive and member institutions I would like to extend best wishes to all the student-athletes as we celebrate our 50th season of OCAA sport.

Yours in sport, Scott Gray

e have come a long way from our humble beginnings in 1967.

sweat BRITNEI BILHETE CHAD OUELLETTE CHRIS BESIK NATALIE DIXON SARAH FERGUSON SCOTT HOKKANEN ERIAN AMOR DE LOS REYES HARRISON FIELD LIA RICHARDSON VICTORIA ST. MICHAEL VICTORIA SHEBA ELLIE SABOURIN ALLYYSSA SOUSA-KIRPARL LARA VRONICK CHAD OUELLETTE SARAH FERGUSON WADE MORRIS ELLIE SABOURIN LARA VRONICK BRITNEI BILHETE

LARA KING, HUMBER JULIE M c CANN, ALGONQUIN DOUG GELLATLY JOSH BELL-WEBSTER CHRISTOPHER CAMERON RYAN KELLY RYAN PHIPPS LARA.KING@HUMBER.CA 205 HUMBER COLLEGE BLVD. TORONTO, ON M9W 5L7 416-675-6622 EXT 4513

OCAA PRESIDENT SCOTT GRAY

SWEATMAG.COM

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sweat contents In Every Issue 3 5 6 42 44 46

President’s note Letter from the editors Photo contest Coach’s corner Championship gallery Off the bench

Core Sports 8 Rugby sevens: The inaurgural year 10 O Captain, My Captain 12 Far from home 14 Away games 19 Softball: A league of their own

Features 18 20 22 23 27 28 30 32

Locker room talk Women in sport OCAA celebrates 50 seasons of varsity sport Body resistance fitness Finding balance Calling the shots Social media in sport Axe battles

33 35 38 40

Recreational sports Pump up the volume Smart tech Supplements

Life & Health

COVER PHOTO BY NATALIE DIXON

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LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

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n this production of sweat magazine we had the pleasure of mining the efforts of Algonquin and Humber College.

Through lots of collaboration and hard work, our journalism schools unified together to create one team. Production was challenging with our colleagues 450 kilometres away.

But like those in competition already know, success doesn’t come easy. Nevertheless, it’s been an exciting semester with this new partnership and serves as another milestone as we all celebrate the OCAA’s 50th season.

In this issue, Seneca College’s Linda Stapleton, director of sports and recreation, takes on the Coach’s Corner and shares how the OCAA has evolved during her 39 years of commitment. Another long-time athletic director Ron Port of Algonquin College spoke to our writer Ellie Sabourin for a Q & A about the beginnings of the OCAA. A lot has changed since Ontario colleges started competing in sport. From the rise of participation in women’s sports to the inaugu-

ration of rugby sevens, the OCAA is constantly enhancing the association. And at sweat magazine we’re delighted to write and share about the experiences of our sports communities.

At sweat we especially enjoy highlighting the success of our athletes. This issue profiled four captains that demonstrate outstanding sportsmanship skills coupled with a distinct outlook on how to lead their teams. And for those who need some advice on how to conquer the life, work, and sport balance we have two pieces outlining some pointers.

Finally, we’d like to thank our team, faculty advisors, Julie McCann and Lara King, and all our contributors for a job well done.

Without each and every person a part of this production it wouldn’t have been possible.

We hope you enjoy reading sweat magazine’s 31st issue. ▲

partnership serves as another milestone as we all celebrate the OCAA’s 50th.

Co-Editors Britnei Bilhete and Chad Ouellette

THIS ISSUE THE OCAA CELEBRATES THEIR 50TH SEASON.

32 Q&A with Algonquin’s past Athletic Director Ron Port

42 Linda Stapleton touches on 50 Years of passion

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF BRITNEI BILHETE

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CHAD OUELLETTE

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PHOTO CONTEST FIRST PLACE WINNER

Thank you for your submissions!

This gallery showcases an amazing season in the OCAA shown through the lens of some stunning sports photographers.

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GREG CANNON

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PHOTOS FROM TOP LEFT BY: JACOB ZECK, RYAN MCCULLOUGH, RYAN MCCULLOUGH, GREG CANNON, SARAH FERGUSON, GREG CANNON, ROBERT ONG

Britnei Bilhete

CORE SPORTS

RUGBY SEVENs The inaugural 7s season kicked off Sept. 24. Conestoga, Mohawk, Seneca, Sheridan, and host Humber participated in the new OCAA sport.

The newly inducted sport is fast and fierce

A

BRITNEI BILHETE

referee blows his whistle to end a Humber-Sheridan women’s rugby sevens match at the OCAA’s very first season opener. “That’s it?” one spectator says to another. “Yep,” she responds “if you blink, you’ll miss it.”

Unlike the traditional game of rugby that lasts 80 minutes long, sevens is much quicker as it consists of two seven-minute halves, while the other major difference is the number of players on each team; seven compared to 15 respectively. Seneca’s pivot Sarah Givens said she loved the new sport just moments after her first game. “You can give your all for seven minutes,” she said happily. “I’ve never played before so it’s exciting.”

Sevens’ fast and physical spirit seems to have contributed to its recent popularity boost on an international level. This summer in Rio, rugby sevens made its Olympic debut. In 2015 at the Pan Am Games hosted in Toronto, women’s rugby sevens was introduced to the program for the

first time. Now, the OCAA is following suit.

“From the OCAA’s perspective [we were] trying to determine a sport we can especially get female participation in,” says OCAA vice-president of programs Wayne Fish. “There doesn’t seem to be as many club programs for women’s rugby and so this seems to be a sport that is growing very quickly … [and] at the high school level as well.”

Many women’s rugby teams within the OCAA were scrambling to rally a typical team of 30. It was especially difficult to find participation at schools that emphasized arts-based programs, such as Sheridan College where Tamara Dixon coaches the women’s rugby team and Fish also acts as varsity sport coordinator. “With fifteens there’s a struggle to get 30 players out,” says Dixon. “When you have girls with responsibilities with their co-op placements or their work responsibilities or their family responsibilities, they can’t make the weekday games and then you’re run-

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ning short to a game.” Worst case scenario: “You might be going into a game with 19 players.” Fewer athletes on hand means fewer substitutions when others are fatigued or injured.

Dixon, who is a former rugby sevens player, says she appreciates the introduction firstly because a faster game means less contact which ‘means less opportunity for injury’. Although her reasoning seems logical, it may be, unfortunately, theoretical.

According to a British Journal of Sports Medicine study, researchers discovered an interesting find. While watching England’s women’s rugby sevens Squad during the 2014 World Cup, they found ‘match injury incidence in this small cohort was higher than in women’s fifteens’. The number of injuries that occurred during practices were also higher.

Though Fish says it’s still too early to tell what kind of injury trends there will be in the OCAA’s sevens league, during fifteens regular season of this year Loyalist college withdrew from the competition because of, what a post on their website indicates, a string of serious injuries within the team.

Safety was the main reason the team folded; which was compromised in in part by the numbers of players on the team – only 18 out of 30 positions were filled.

For the fifteens season champions Fleming Knights, Loyalists drop out meant less competition for them. And that left them feeling frustrated.

“It does feel better knowing that you defeated the whole OCAA rather than just the half that decided to play fifteens,” says Knights rugby coach Shannon Burton.

Since there was only three contenders at the championship game, every team medalled. Fleming was awarded an OCAA medal for a fourthstraight season. But this win didn’t sit like the others.

“Humber always had a strong program,” says Burton. “If they had put together a fifteens team some say maybe they would have beat us. There’s that thought ‘You didn’t beat everyone.’”

In fifteens defence, Burton says her team stuck with the traditional choice because “fifteens allows a larger variety of players to participate.

When you go down to sevens there’s a type of player you’re cutting that opportunity out for.”

Dixon agrees it is a different game. “So a lot of the girls are experiencing more high intense running than in fifteens where it’s run, go, run, go, run go.” She says many of the fifteens players would struggle with the transition.

“For sevens, for the crowd, it’s a better game to watch. It’s more entertaining.”

The rugby sevens season wrapped up with Humber’s women taking gold.

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CORE SPORTS

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN FOUR OCAA LEADERS TALK ABOUT THE PASSION, PRESSURES AND HONOUR OF LEADING A VARSITY TEAM CHAD OUELLETTE

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eing named a captain is a great honour for any player. Whether chosen by teammates or coaches, the captain is a respected and trusted leader. There is not a specific personality type to being a captain, but they do have a few qualities in common.

But what exactly are those qualities, and what are the different types of situations captains are put in on a regular basis? Benjamin Tonin from Mohawk College; Rachael Shantz from Fleming; Taylor MacIver from Durham College and Owen Powers from Algonquin, are all different athletes with unique characters and distinct leadership qualities. One thing they have in common is that they all can rise to the occasion regardless of the situation. They are caring, consistent and thrive on being leaders.

Benjamin Tonin – Captain of the Mohawk men’s volleyball team Benjamin Tonin is in his third year on the Mohawk men’s volleyball team, and is current-

ly in his second tenure as captain. Ranked as an all-academic athlete, he prides himself on his ability to perform at his best whether he is playing or not. “I just have a natural leadership quality. When I get on the court, I thrive on the fact that I can motivate other individuals, and it helps me accelerate my game,” Tonin explains.

But he adds being a good student is the most important.

Tonin had a rocky start coming into his first year until he was chosen as captain, and it changed his life. That is when he decided he needed to play harder and achieve his academic goals.

Since grade ten – aside from his rookie year at Mohawk – he has been in a leadership role when it came to volleyball. In the future Tonin hopes to own a business one day, and he says being a leader will help him along his path.

There are many traits that a captain should possess, and the three that Tonin thinks he has

are team cohesiveness, alertness, and of course, leadership.

“Leadership isn’t where you decide to show up when you want and be a leader, and then show up the next game and not be. It’s about consistency,” says Tonin.

Coaches and professors have told Tonin that he needs to put being a captain on his resume, because he says it shows that he can not only delegate, but ensure that his team is on the right track.

Matthew Schnarr, the coach of Tonin’s volleyball team, has a fantastic relationship with Tonin.

“He asks me anything under the sun to do with volleyball. If there’s a player that comes to check out the squad halfway through the year and is interested in playing, the coach asks me what I think about it,” says Tonin.

The biggest aspect about being a captain is proper representation. “It’s all about representing the college and the volleyball team. We

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CORE SPORTS take a lot of the burden,” Tonin says.

Rachael Shantz – Captain of the Fleming women’s rugby team Rachael Shantz, 20, is just starting out as captain of the Fleming women’s rugby team. Aside from being captain for one game with the Peterborough Pagans, this is her first time in the captain’s seat.

Some athletes have the advantage of being a born leader, but Shantz explains that she had to step out of her comfort zone to achieve her leadership skills.

“I haven’t always been able to put myself out there, and throughout my life I haven’t found that directing people was easy,” says Shantz. Her college and varsity experience from last year helped her develop into a captain.

Shantz says her positive attitude and encouraging personality are two of the main reasons she was honoured with captaincy. By being organized, and ensuring her teammates are up to date with everything, she has taken on the role with relative ease.

Coming into the season, Shantz was nervous about the number of new players on the team. “I personally haven’t had a lot of experience with the new players’ aspect,” she explains. “But at our first game we pulled it together really well and everything is going so nicely that I haven’t had to deal with the building stage [of a young team] as much.”

Since her first game this season, where the Fleming Knights took down the Algonquin Thunder in a 43-8 win, she hasn’t felt the pressure of being a leader. But if there is ever a time when she must be, it’s when a teammate is acting out of character. “I do take it upon myself to make sure that everyone is calm, because I don’t want anything to get out of control,” says Shantz. “I don’t want people to feel angry on the field, because when people get angry the whole team tends to fall apart.”

With the Fleming Knight’s being guaranteed a spot in the OCAA championships, she can look forward to having the opportunity to lead her team to a gold medal. At press time Fleming did win gold.

Owen Powers – Captain of the Algonquin men’s basketball team Before Owen Powers came to be captain of the Algonquin Thunder men’s basketball team, he was the captain of his Next Level club team in Ottawa. Having the experience coming into the OCAA enabled him to carry the title of captain without hesitation.

In the 2015-16 season, he split the role of captain with Murphy Beya – a player who recently graduated. Between the two athletes, Powers is more outspoken. “Murphy leads by example.

Where I am the more outspoken guy,” he explains. “You will see me on the court telling people where to go, and where they need to be and stuff like that. I led vocally.”

The added pressure that comes with being a captain is something that Powers enjoys. He feels that the challenge brings out the best in people, because they are motivated by fulfilling the

team’s expectations.

The most important part about being captain in his eyes is knowing the difference between being a boss and being a leader. “You have to be able to tell your team what you want from them, but also be there with them and doing the same things,” he explains. “You don’t want to be a bad teammate.”

An individual is chosen as a captain to lead their team, and being off the court doesn’t mean that you aren’t still responsible. Showing your team that you must be held accountable in the classroom is what a captain should be aware of always.

And awareness is something Powers brings to the table, going into his fourth year of OCAA eligibility. “I’m experienced in the league and I know what to expect when we go on the road.

I’ve done the back-to-back games. I’ve been to the OCAAs [provincial championships]. I’m just more prepared for the year,” Powers explains.

The ability to go into a season, composed and with passion is integral. Powers will lead his team alone for the first time and knows exactly what he needs to bring to the court.

Taylor MacIver – Captain of the Durham women’s soccer team Being able to lead and be a role model for the team is the reason why Taylor MacIver enjoys being captain of the Durham Lords soccer team. But not many OCAA athletes have the same experience as she has had, bringing two years of experience, from the National Collegiate Athletic Association from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Ariz to Durham.

Before she came to Durham, she was set to play at McMaster University but unfortunately a knee injury made her ineligible for that year. This downfall turned around for the better when she came to play for the Lords and was named captain in her first year. Luckily, her lost year didn’t count as one of her five years of OCAA eligibility.

MacIver says that to be a captain certain qualities are key. “I think a captain needs to have the skill set while on the field,” she explains. “Girls want to see and respect their captain, so you have to be compassionate, you got to be trustworthy, reliable, and most importantly, have your presence known on the field.”

Unlike Shantz, who became captain of a powerhouse team, MacIver came to a team that hasn’t won more games than they have lost since the 2013 season where they finished with a record of 5-2-2.

“Coming from a team where I’m used to winning three points, it was easy to smile and laugh,” MacIver explains. “Fortunately enough with Durham, although we weren’t getting the points we wanted, every game was an improvement from the last. So, it was still easy to walk off [the field] smiling.”

MacIver says she must deal with a lot of criticism from people off the field. She constantly hears “Oh, you’re going to get spanked,” or “You’re going to get smacked,” so she has the tendency to go into games with a heavy heart. But just knowing that her team comes out and competes with the best is enough to keep her and the team going.

MOHAWK’S BENJAMIN TONIN

DURHAM’S TAYLOR MacIVER

FLEMING’S RACHAEL SHANTZ

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FAR FROM HOME Centennial Colts teammates talk about the challenges of being an international athlete VICTORIA SHEBA

Centennial’s International student althlete Ostap Hamarnyk words from both languages when speaking to gram they want. people who speak his mother tongue.

“Having that course is helpful, but it isn’t for “At first it was hard to get used to the lan- all international students. If you think your Enguage,” Hamarnyk says, “especially when you glish is good enough and can prove it, you can meet people from different parts of the world write a test called the test of English Proficienthat speak English with a special accent.” cy,” he says.

Hamarnyk said that the hardest thing he had Kopinak says the first two months are alto do on the field was learn to communicate. His ways difficult for international students. “Imagchallenges echoed Small’s. “I didn’t know the ine coming to a new country and dealing with a local slang.” new culture and on top of that balancing a varsiMichael Kopinak, associate director of ath- ty sports team with many practices and games.” letics and recreation at Humber College, says Mixing a team of domestic players with in“language is definitely a challenge when deal- ternational players can have a variety of emoing with sports. There are certain hand gestures, tions and new experiences. words and ways you can communicate that can “It’s great having a new flavour of fun, and work out.” both the domestic and international students A number of international students first learn new stuff every day. But from time to time start off in the English for Academic Purposes there can be a conflict between the two,” says course, which is about a year or two depend- Kopinak. ing on the student’s progress in the course. This Monique Haan, Humber varsity academcourse helps students improve their writing and ic coordinator and cross country coach, helps verbal skills. After completing the course with a international students deal with their challenghigh GPA, they are eligible of entering the pro- es and walks them through it all. “If a student

Darren Becksles./Flikr

F

acing off against tough competitors, keeping up with varsity training and maintaining a full academic course load is only a small part of the challenges international OCAA varsity students face. Add to that language barriers, cultural differences, social obstacles and financial burdens and it becomes clear that the life of an international athlete can be a struggle.

Centennial Colts’ defender Sheldon Small understands that struggle. He comes from Barbados. The island country is smaller than the city of Toronto where he now studies.

Small first arrived in Canada in August 2014 and today plays for the men’s soccer team and says his experience as an international student at times has been quite difficult.

“The ability to manage a full course load and participate in training sessions and games was a hard task in the beginning stages, but it allowed me to develop great time management and delegation skills which I never had before,” he says.

Small says he faces other challenges and describes the hardest part on the field is the communication. While Small does not have the same challenges a student from a non-English speaking country may face, for him it’s the nuances of the language. On the field Small is used to speaking in his slang from back home.

The idioms or regional colloquialisms, on both sides, can make communicating with his teammates difficult.

Fellow Colt and defenceman, Ostap Hamarnyk moved from the Ukraine to Canada in July of 2015. The mid-centre back says, “being an international student is almost the same as being a domestic student, but some restrictions apply that may cause difficulties.”

One of the biggest struggles Hamarnyk says is the language barrier. Many times he says he struggles with the translation and will often mix

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Cutline over here here here.

marcos c./Flikr

Darren Becksles./Flikr

focused on making sure they have more

Centennial’s Interntional student althlete Sheldon Small needs extra time in a class then we set them up there needs to be time on the field for non-interwith a mentor that’s in either in second or third national students. year,” said Haan.

“If we were to go and recruit soccer players But, she says financial aid and the language from Europe to fill our field, then it isn’t a Cabarrier are the two major difficulties that inter- nadian-based soccer team,” says Haan. “We do national students face. have a few international students on a number of On average an international student’s tuition our sports teams.” fee for a degree program is $7,462.50 and for For each sport, there is a limit of how many diploma its $7,162 per semester. Where a do- international students are allowed on the team, as mestic student might pay approximately $2,000. well as how many are allowed on the field. For Athletics in Canada are not scholarship-driv- soccer, basketball and volleyball teams can have en. Because of this, international students have an infinite number of international students on less time on the field. the team but only four on the field at a time. for It’s the one thing Sheldon Small wishes he soccer and three for basketball and volleyball. could change about the rules in sport for internaWhen it comes to badminton, it’s a whole tional students. Small explains the limit of only different scale since the team is mainly made up four international students on field at a time of international students. during the game. He says there are times that It’s a fact that there are more international the team would benefit from having more inter- Asian students who are interested in varsity badnational students on at the same time. However, minton than any other sport. Due to the number CCAA rules restrict this. of Asian international students who want to play “I don’t agree with it at all,” he said. badminton, they now have a new rule where Haan says the rules are in place because teams are only allowed a limit of three interna-

tional students on the badminton team. It can either be two males, one female, or vice versa, or all of the same sex, but it cannot be any more than three in total.

Depending on the sport, there can be many stereotypes. “When it comes down to badminton there is a stereotype that Asians are better than North American white people, which isn’t always the case,” said Kopinak. He continues, “it’s a popular sport in Asia and Europe, but not as much here.”

Once a student is a part of a team, the player is required to play as a team. For international students, some may have a rival on the team and want to defeat them and make sure they were the “better” player.

“In a situation like that, they are more focused on making sure they have more scoring points, but it should not be that way when you are playing for a team,” says Haan.

“If someone from our team faces a school who has an ex-friend on their team, then there must be some sort of personal competition.”

As an international student athlete, they are required to play harder and do their best at every game.

“They need to prove that they are worthy of playing on the team,” Haan says.

Hamarnyk’s biggest struggle might not be much different from any of his teammates on the field. For Hamarnyk, he says it’s just trying to find ways to stay motivated when the team is losing.

His advice for international athletes is simple. “Work hard.”

It sounds easy enough but, he says, it is vital for an international student to put a lot of effort in practice.

“You have to prove that you deserve to be a part of the squad and you will be a better asset to the team.”

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CORE SPORTS

AWAY GAMES Being the visiting team can affect performance, but learning how to overcome the disadvantage is key

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ason Marshell, who is the current captain of the Lambton Lions men’s basketball team, finds going to Redeemer College, in Ancaster, the toughest road trip he must take in a season. He remembers a time during his first season with the Lions that was particularly difficult. His coach had been warning him about Redeemer’s ability to play up to their opponent’s skill level regardless of the season that they were having – especially at home.

“Going in there, I kind of had that in the back of my mind,” Marshell explains. “Back then, they had Calvin Turnbull, who was an OCAA all-star. And we knew Redeemer was a team that we needed to beat.”

He says at Redeemer, they always have a huge turnout and – with loud fans and different instruments playing in the background – it can mess with the player’s psyches.

Marshell knew that at the end of the year the Lions and Redeemer were going to be close in the standings. In that game, they won by three

CHAD OUELLETTE points with Marshell performing at his best.

“For games like that, everyone is a lot more focussed. There’s not much joking around, and laughing [on the bus]. Everyone is kind of in their own zone,” Marshell says. “Everyone was doing what they have to do to get in the right mental state and perform at a high level.”

He lived in Detroit, Michigan, playing high school basketball there, before joining the OCAA in 2013. And with that experience comes knowledge of knowing how to adapt to travel and play in foreign territory.

But as a competing athlete, being away means trying to bring the same level of skill, focus and intensity performed at home. They must be able to perform even when the home team sets a target on their back. The adaptability necessary for these single games and road trips comes from experience, and this experience alone leads to a solid performance.

Take Trevor McLaughlin for example. He is currently in his fifth and final year with the Mo-

hawk Mountaineers and has faced many games on foreign turf but, according to him, preparing yourself the same for every game can make it easier to handle.

For McLaughlin, it isn’t the regular season road games he is worried about, it’s the OCAA and CCAA championships. There, it isn’t one road game and then home. Those competitions require playing a different team on the road every day for three straight days. And that means preparing for a different team every day as well.

“But when you go to Nationals you’re in a completely different province playing the best teams from each,” McLaughlin explains.

“Being on the road usually isn’t that bad.

We get a hotel room, and if we are travelling far they are accommodating and will make the game a bit later than usual.”

The team you are playing on the road can make all the difference. Once a year, Mohawk goes to play a back-to-back game, in Windsor and then London, to face off against the Fan-

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CORE SPORTS

Top Canadian teams traveled to the Montreal Soccer Stadium in Montreal, for the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Chad Ouellette women’s soccer championships. The OCAA’s Algonquin Thunder placed fifth two weeks after winning the provincial championships in Amherstburg, Ont. the Thunderdome, she never wants to lose, so shawe Falcons and the St. Clair Saints.

Both teams have done very well in the last being able to go to another field and show them couple of seasons. This road trip is one Mc- up is exhilarating. It makes things a little differLaughlin doesn’t look forward to because of ent when the team is undefeated.

“Our coach, Dom Oliveri, says that because both the high skill level of the opposing teams and the fact that they must leave right after the we’ve been undefeated, the target on our back is huge,” MacMillan explains. “The teams are first game to play the next team.

They leave on a Friday, and get set to play going to be out for you, and they are going to St. Clair. Immediately after the game, the team try that much harder because they want to be the travels two hours to London and plays Fan- first ones to do it.”

Like McLaughlin said, the same routine beshawe, who are the reigning National bronze fore every game can help you shake the away medalists, on the Sunday.

Unlike McLaughlin, Vanessa MacMillan of game jitters. Charles Baskin who plays for the the Algonquin women’s soccer team gets excit- St. Clair men’s basketball team, and played his ed about travelling for an away game. This is high school basketball in the same league as something she has built up over her time playing Marshell, must drink orange juice before every varsity soccer for both University of Ottawa and game to keep himself at his best. “Most of the time we [the team] stop by a grocery store, so Algonquin.

MacMillan knows that on her home field at I can grab it there and it gets me through the game.” Marshell prefers to go to his home gym to shoot around before travelling to another college for a night game if he has the chance.

At the end of the day, remembering the little things is a good source of motivation. McLaughlin, MacMillan, Marshell and Baskin know that they must carry their intensity on road trips because everyone is playing against them on foreign turf. Whether it is the fans, the opposing player and coaches, or just being in an unfamiliar surrounding – away games can be brutal.

ys did have one win and that was a big deal for them as a team.

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SOFTBALL

Britnei Bilhete

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

FINDING SUCCESS IN THE SPORT OF SOFTBALL

I

SCOTT HOKKANEN

n 2014 the sporting world was captivated by the story of a 13-year-old baseball player named Mo’ne Davis. Davis was one of two girls participating in the Little League World Series of Baseball (LLWS), the highest level of competition for baseball for adolescents.

She became the first girl to register a win in a LLWS start and the first girl to pitch a shutout.

Davis became a cultural phenomenon. She was the only female, along with one other girl who good enough to compete in the male-dominated sport. She received the 2013 Breakthrough Athlete of the Year Award at the ESPN athletic awards-ceremony the ESPYs, and became the first LLWS player to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. In an interview with ESPN’s Hannah Storm, Davis said, “My dream is to play college basketball and then play in the WNBA.” While it isn’t a rare occurrence for a talented athlete to be gifted in several sports, one would think that Davis would continue to play the sport that had thrust her into the international spotlight. Yet she plans to pursue a career in basketball, which provides more opportunities for female athletes to gain fame and fortune.

Davis made the switch because there is not an even playing field between females and males when it comes to finding success in the sport of baseball. There is however another option for women to play ball professionally, and that is to switch to softball.

The last major professional women’s baseball league, The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), held its last ball game in 1954. When the United States entered World War ll, a group of major league executives started a new professional league with women players in order to maintain the popularity of the sport, while the men of the MLB were off fighting in the war. The story of the AAGPBL inspired the 1992 film A League of Their Own. In 2016, professional female-only baseball is history with the exception of fictionalized productions such as the Fox television series Pitch, in which a female pitcher plays her way into the MLB. Humber College softball head coach Duaine Bowles says that fictional series like Pitch aren’t helping the cause, because they divert women away from finding success in the sport of softball.

“Whenever you plant a seed that Major League Baseball is an option for women, a career in softball is lost,” he says. “There’s just no opportunities [for women] to play baseball at a pro level after high school, you’re planting a seed that won’t grow. Everyone goes back to Mo’ne Davis, but she wouldn’t have had to quit baseball, if she had been playing softball all along. She could have been a great athlete in softball, and she could have been paid for it, but baseball drew her away from that.”

In July 2016 the Sonoma Stompers of the Independent Minor League Baseball association, announced that two women, 17-year-old Kelsie Whitmore and 25-year-old Stacy Piagno, would join their team in starting positions, making them the first professional baseball team to employ multiple women since three women played in the racially-segregated Negro Leagues in the 1950s.

The National Pro Fastpitch League (NPF), formerly known as the Women’s Pro Softball League is the only professional women’s softball or baseball league in the United States and it currently features six teams. In a report from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association

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Britnei Bilhete

courtesy

are more professional and collegiate opportunities of softball.

(NFCA), it was found that the 2015 Women’s College World Series of Softball averaged more television viewers than the men’s 2015 College World Series of baseball. Duaine Bowles believe with the growth of popularity of softball south of the border, the sport is bound to grow.

“Once you get those good television ratings from the NCAA game into the pro game, then you’ll start to see financial support from private companies, the league will grow, and then it will be self-sustainable for a long time,” he says.

While these television ratings can be seen as an advancement for females in the sport of softball, the problem still remains that women have to play with men to play baseball professionally. Coach Bowles says that there are more similarities than differences between baseball and softball. He says that the swing mechanics are exactly the same, and besides shorter basepaths and a larger ball all of the skills from softball translate over to baseball. Dividing women and men into two different yet similar disciplines seems fundamentally unnecessary.

Many other major sports have entirely female professional leagues such as the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) and the National Women’s Soccer League

Britnei Bilhete This game between Humber and Fanshawe was an intense do or die game for the Hawks. Both teams walked away with a single win.

(NWSL). For the time being the only professional option for women to play fastball, is to switch to softball.

The groundwork is there to facilitate the growth of females-only softball, but how do women feel about the division of softball and baseball? Justine Pike is a veteran softball player for the 2015-16 OCAA softball champion Durham Lords. “Growing up I have only ever played rep softball. I love the game, I love the sport and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Pike is one of many women who have found success within the sport of softball.

“Growing up I never really had any famous athletic role models,” Pike says. “I looked up to my older sister who was also a softball player and also a member of the Durham Lords.” Female role models were important to Justine in her upbringing.

“I find female coaches a lot easier to get along with because they better understand what goes through the minds of other female athletes.”

She’s optimistic about women in softball in general too.

“I think there are more professional and collegiate opportunities within the sport of softball because I feel like more women are interested in the game and have the passion for the sport compared to men,” she says.

In examining the gender division in the sport of baseball it is important to consider that it can be an advantage that softball has become a safe-place for women to compete against other women rather than trying to break into the male-dominated sport of baseball. However the main issue at hand is that there should at least be opportunities for women to play other women at hardball baseball professionally if they were inclined to do so.

Hugh Mitchener, CEO of Softball Canada said that there may be more opportunities for women within the sport of softball, because at the grassroots there are more club opportunities for girls softball and moving up the ladder. Colleges and universities also provide opportunities for girls to play softball competitively. Mitchener added that there are Olympic opportunities for women in softball with the sport returning to the Olympics for Tokyo 2020.

The competitive opportunities for women to play softball is expanding internationally.

The perplexing division of the genders between softball and baseball remains unanswered. For now, many athletes like Justine Pike are content with competing in softball and the possibilities for women to succeed in softball are growing before our eyes.

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ON LOCKER ROOM TALK

CLARE JENKINS

W

hen sports fans think of what is commonly referred to as “locker room talk” they may think of testosterone fueled men boasting about the women they’ve slept with.

And apparently President-elect Donald Trump thinks the same and some.

A video of Trump describing a time he tried to seduce a married woman resurfaced in October featuring Trump boasting about how he can use his fame to sexually prey on women.

“When you’re a star they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ‘em by the p***y. You can do anything,” Trump said in the video.

Trump apologized, dismissing what he said as “locker room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago.”

Trump has used the “locker room talk” defense five times including when he was questioned during the second presidential debate.

“Yes, I’m very embarrassed by it. I hate it. But it’s locker room talk, and it’s one of those things,” he said.

Trump’s passing off talking about sexual assault as locker room banter has stirred up questions about what really goes on when athletes get together behind closed doors.

“As an athlete, I’ve been in locker rooms my entire adult life and uh, that’s not locker room talk,” Oakland Athletics pitcher Sean Doolittle tweeted.

John Amaechi, former NBA player told the guardian: “I’ve had more conversations about politics, about racism and the tax advantages of living in Florida than I have conversations that even approached what Donald Trump said.”Amaechi did say that the locker room is an environment where potentially offensive things are said behind closed doors.

“Although I’ve also heard people use words for women that I would not approve of or use, I’ve never heard anybody in a locker room speak of a non-consensual sexual act,” he told The Guardian. He also credits the locker room as “one of the last bastions of straight male intimacy. “[It is] one of the last places men can cry, can touch each other, where they can emotionally connect,” he said.

However supportive, former University of Toronto rugby player, Dallas Blackstone describes the locker room as a place where there is a constant assertion of masculinity. “I think it’s got a lot to do with the fact that men are uncomfortable being naked together and they need to reassert their heteronormativity,” Blackstone said.

“But that’s not locker room talk. That’s misogyny,” he said referring to Trump’s words in the video. Blackstone said locker room talk isn’t what Trump said about describing sexual assault. Often times it’s describing consensual sex. “It’s a bit of boasting, a bit of private stuff but no one talks about rape,” he said.

Though Blackstone also said it can be a place of healthy and supportive sexual discussion. “I think sexuality is an important thing to talk about and I think you should openly discuss things like intimacies as

Huskies Football/Flikr long as you’re not defaming.”

“I think it’s a real reflection of how the new paradigm of feminism needs to be taught to our boys. It’s not about women covering themselves up; it’s about men realizing that a woman exposing some of her bust isn’t an invitation,” he said.

Seneca’s Athletic Director, Linda Stapleton, would agree. She said that one of the initiatives Seneca College has taken to decrease sexual assault comes after the Ontario government passed new sexual violence legislation mandating that all Ontario colleges and universities create separate sexual assault policies by January 2017.

Seneca has taken a huge approach to educate athletes and staff about the impact of words and actions. The college developed a clinic for all staff and students to talk about sexual assault and appropriate language.

“What used to be considered locker room talk has no place in the college or the locker room and no place in our lives,” Stapleton said. Stapleton said student athletes are holding each other accountable. “They say ‘remember, we talked about that. You shouldn’t be saying that.”

“What Trump said was not acceptable, ” she said. “It’s not locker room talk, it’s sexual abuse. It’s demeaning and it’s disgusting,” she said.

Manager of athletics at Fanshawe College Nathan McFadden said what Trump said certainly does not qualify as locker room talk. “He has mischaracterized this term and obviously doesn’t have any sports background,” McFadden said.

“Trump was disrespecting women. It is something that in my 20 plus years of being in sport I haven’t come across professionally or as an amateur,” he said.

Georgian College’s Athletic Director Michele McConney, said she sees the locker room as a positive space for athletes to prepare for a game. “Athletes can come to our athletic centre and leave those negative feelings at the door, come in, change and leave with a good mindset,” she said.

“Some athletes have their headphones on and prepare to themselves, others are in chatting and preparing for the game. I see it as a good mental de-stresser zone.”

Fraser McKeown plays for Humber College’s men’s hockey team and said locker room chat is generally not as sexual as people imagine it to be.

“Most conversations aren’t as bad as you can imagine. They usually aren’t things you would want your Mom to hear, but aren’t as terrible as you think.”

McKeown compared Trump to what he calls “‘That Guy’. I’m sure everybody has experienced a guy who does things just for the story, and just to show off to the guys. But those guys are few and far between.

They are also not the players who are very popular with the guys because we understand that it’s an act, and that they are just trying too hard,” he said.

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WOMEN IN SPORTS STILL FACING GENDER BARRIERS

courtesy Humber Athletics Charlene Mocon is one of Humber Hawks Rugby sevens champions. She says she can sees inequality in sport for women.

NATALIE DIXON

C

harlene Mocon plays for Humber’s sevens rugby team. The forward player was named the 2014 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association women’s rugby player of the year. But, before that, she represented Canada on the under 20 at 16 years old. She says there is an unbelievable amount of inequality in sport for women that she has experienced herself.

Mocon was the only female when training in an academy for Team Canada.

“I watched that coach promote the boys way more than he promoted me,” she says.

When she made the national team, she saw the boys travelling for free to compete where they placed eighth out of nine teams.

Meanwhile, in 2013 when she went to compete in California it cost her $3,600 for a week and a half. The women’s team placed third.

Again, she went to England to compete where she spent almost $6,000.

“All my guy friends are travelling all over the world and they’re paying nothing and they’re placing in the very, very bottom,” she says.

Senior women’s rugby was not funded at the time while men’s was and is – all age grades.

Because girls have to pay she says it depends on who’s financially able to play.

“I got very, very fortunate that I had parents

that were willing to make sacrifices and work their butt off so I could have opportunities,” she says.

On the other hand, she says she has friends who “weren’t in the same boat” and because of that they weren’t able to play in those tournaments that ultimately may have promoted them to play nationally.

Mocon says she no longer plays for Team Canada partially because of this as well as the physical demands of the sport.

Another difficult decision she had to make was of either continuing her education or playing sport nationally. Ultimately, she deemed education was of primary importance.

“It comes down to paying my college tuition or paying to play national rugby – I have to make the smart decision there,” she says.

She says if she knew that women’s rugby athletes would be accomodated, maybe she would have continued.

Sports, like rugby, were not considered graceful or feminine in the nineteenth century.

Now however, women’s sport has grown immensely. Even for the sports traditionally seen as masculine, females have flourished. It’s hard to believe that there are still visible inequalities – especially after the success women have had in sport.

According to Dairy Farmers of Canada and the Canadian Association for Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) 41 per cent of girls aged three through 17 did not participate in sport. What’s even more startling is that this number jumps to 84 per cent in adult females. The study, published in March of 2016, looked at surveys and analysis of women in sports media over the course of four years.

Jim Bialek is the manager of athletics and sports information at Humber College. He says that this number probably increases for women because of the lack of opportunity for women to continue sports professionally.

At the varsity level, he says that the OCAA does a good job of being aware and understanding of the different inequalities people face, including women.

“At Humber we’re very cognizant of the fact that gender equality comes into play,” he says.

The Ontarian and Canadian study released from a new research publication called “Women in Sport – Fueling a Lifetime of Participation”, noted that 24 per cent of all athletic directors were female.

The number of females listed as athletic directors compared to male, is four to nine, respectively in the OCAA 2016-2017 media guide

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FEATURES and directory.

Jim Flack is the athletic director and Bruins men’s basketball team coach at Sheridan College. He says there are two ways to look at the discussion point of women in sport: ethically or marketing.

The ethics relates to opportunity. For example, he says if something is offered to men it should be offered to women in the same equal and fair manner.

“There’s no way that anything from scholarships, to playing opportunities, or anything should be different for men than for women, period,” Flack says.

He says society has come a long way in such a short time for women’s equality in sport when you look from 20 years ago until now.

On the other hand, the marketing aspect revolves around something called “dollar votes” when looking at professionally played sports.

This is how organizers measure interest. Viewers vote for something with their “dollars”. For example, if you pay to watch a Toronto Argonauts game you have then spent your money or “dollars” to show your interest in the sport, game or whatever it may be. In turn, this determines the popularity of a sport through marketing, he says.

He says if people do not want to spend their “dollar votes” at the Women’s National Basketball Association, there is no one who can force the interest.

Haley Wolfenden is the communications, marketing and events manager for the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity.

“It’s a circle, and until we make a demand for women’s sport to be included, the media portals will continue to ignore it because they are following a business model and are trying to bring in money,” says Wolfenden.

Genetic differences are another reason Flack says many women are not partaking in professional sport in the same way men are.“Men are quicker to fight, more violent,” he says.

Vicki Harber is a Professor Emeritus of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta and a member of the Canadian Sport for Life Leadership Team. Specifically, she is helping to shape female athleticism across Canada through writing and promoting females in sport.

She says competition is an entirely different issue. Competition is a social construct, she says.

“Women are no less competitive than men, yet our society suggests that because women (in general) are less strong than men, they are also less competitive,” Harber says.

On the contrary, Flack says, in general, women are less interested in competing in comparison to men. “To a degree, we need to stop pretending that men and women are the same, because we’re not,” Flack says.

Though, Harber says this is not a logical argument. She says the more everyone supports

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women and girls in sport the better.

“Not only will a girl personally benefit from quality physical activity, but she also becomes an asset to her community,” she says.

By creating functional and successful relationships, a woman is able to make positive contributions in the workforce which adds to the well-being of the community she lives, learns, works and plays in, she says.

Harber says Canada would benefit immensely and not only in Olympic medals. She says there would also be improved social cohesion, resilient families and communities, respectful workplaces, reduced medical costs and robust financial conditions.

According to a review article by Richard Bailey, Harber says the evidence in it explains how this would benefit individuals, organizations, communities and more. The review outlines intellectual, social and individual capital that is improved in increased physical activity.

Educational attainment, social norms and activity knowledge and skills are just a few examples of these capitals.

Meghan McPeak is a former Humber varsity basketball player and radio-broadcast graduate. She just so happens to also be the first female play-by-play commentator for the NBA D-league. She was recently featured in a Global News series called Breaking Barriers. It gave her the chance to reflect on how she got to where she is now and the various barriers she faced along the way.

She says there are many reasons women do not participate including cultural or financial reasons or family surroundings.

Her family was typically watching or engaging in sport in some way, which sparked her interest. But, to her knowledge, even if a woman wants to get involved in basketball, there aren’t many women’s leagues in Toronto, she says. “At the end of the day, a number is just a number, a stat is just a stat; be the person who changes that stat.”

She says if a female finds she keeps going for an authoritative position and a male always wins over her, find out what he’s doing and do it better. She says not to look at it in a competitive or negative perspective, but as a way to push a person further in whatever they’re doing.

“I don’t want women and females to feel like on the sideline is the only place we fit in when it comes to men’s sports,” she says.

When McPeak went through the radio-broadcast program at Humber, she was the only female covering sports. Alike, Global News reporter Megan Robinson says when she first started in sports broadcasting she was the only woman and felt like a novelty.

“There were uncomfortable days that made me question my choice of sports broadcasting as a career, but years later, I realized it made me stronger and a better reporter.”

Robinson worked on “Breaking Barriers” where she showed three different segments of some powerful women in sport including

Natalie Dixon Meghan McPeak is the first female play-byplay commentator of the NBA She says she has noticed inequality in sport for women, not just playing but broadcasting as well.

McPeak who was featured in the first part. Part two featured Jennifer Huggins, an Olympic figure skater and now the first female three-star boxing referee and judge in North America. Part three showed one of the few women in motorcycling Amy Szoke.

Robinson says she noticed bias within sport when she transitioned from radio to television.

Rarely are men criticized for their looks in the way women are, she says.

“Yes, television is a visual medium, but my work should speak louder than the colour shirt I wear or what lipstick I have on.”

She emphasizes that people should be credited for their knowledge and hard work.

She says her series received plenty of positive feedback focusing on the idea that it’s “about time women in sport were showcased.”

“As a woman in sports broadcasting, I can sympathize with the challenge, but I was so happy to give a voice to women who are paving the way for the next generation.”

She says the most notable instance of inequality for women in sport is within the media coverage and in coaching positions.

“We recently began a project with the Coaching Association of Canada to support more females in coaching positions,” she says.

This movement helps to reduce barriers and strengthen opportunities for women to be able to thrive in sport.

She says that young women and girls need role models constantly. There should be mandatory bylaws that say a certain percentage of staff or board members are female. It needs to be demanded, she says. Ultimately, if all of these are played out, the inequality women face will deplete, Wolfenden says.

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50 SEASONS

STRONG

ELLIE SABOURIN

In recognition of the OCAA’s 50th Season, sweat magazine sat down for a Q&A with Ron Port to reflect on his days with the OCAA.

Algonquin’s retired AD Ron Port

As the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association reaches its 50th season, it is a time to reflect on the achievements and changes.

Ron Port, who served as Algonquin College’s athletic director for 30 years, sat down with sweat magazine for a Q&A and talked about how college athletics have changed. Port has had significant ties to the very foundation of the organization as Hal Wilson, the first President of the OCAA, closely mentored him in the early days of his career.

Port himself was also was on the OCAA executive for eight years, including serving as president from 1997-99.

The OCAA was founded on June 9, 1967; and was made up of seven post-secondary

institutions across the province, including Algonquin, Centennial, Fanshawe, George Brown, Mohawk, Northern and St. Clair.

The first members of the OCAA’s Executive Committee included Hal Wilson, President (Algonquin College); Gord Smith, Vice President (Lambton College); and Joe Marko, Secretary-Treasurer (Mohawk College).

Since then, the OCAA Executive has expanded to seven positions: President, Past President, First-Vice President and four Vice Presidents.

In 2003, the OCAA enhanced its lifetime of tradition with the formation of a Hall of Fame.

The OCAA Hall of Fame recognizes the accomplishments of the athletes, coaches and builders who have made contributions to the association.

What first got you into working with the OCAA?

My career began at Algonquin College in August 1966. I was hired as a member of the Physical Education Department headed by Athletic Director, Hal Wilson. It was through Hal’s vision and leadership that the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) was formed and that competitive sport programs were developed in the provincial community college system.

He was the president and insisted that he still attend. We rented a van, purchased a 4’ X 8’ sheet of plywood, placed it in the baggage area and loaded Hal onto the plywood for the trip from Ottawa to Toronto where the AGM was being held. Hal spent the next three days laying on a table top leading the meetings under his jurisdiction. Nothing was going to hinder the fulfillment of his duties.

How has Hal Wilson influenced you during your career?

Why do you think that college athletics are important?

Q &A

In those formative years Hal insisted that all members of his staff become active participants in the newly formed Association. As the head hockey coach at Algonquin, I became the Eastern Division Convener of hockey for the OCAA, a position I held for a number of years.

What is your fondest memory of working with Hal?

Hal Wilson was my mentor. He gave me the guidance and confidence I needed to make good decisions throughout my athletic career. An example of his dedication to the OCAA is one of my fondest memories. He had thrown his back out prior to an OCAA Annual General Meeting.

Athletics continues to be a passion of mine.

I have experienced it as a player, a fan, a teacher, a coach and a parent. The value of having a successful athletics program is significant in Algonquin College’s branding, student recruitment, student retention, the effect it has on the students, and the effect on the neighboring community.

What do you feel that you learned the most from working with students?

Working with students over the years has made me aware of their needs and differences – the same approach does not work for all.

I have enjoyed interacting with them, sharing a

Ron Port remembers his mentor, OCAA’s first President, Hal Wilson.

Port created significant change during his time working with college athletics. Besides the renovation of the existing gym, Port also oversaw the creation of a 20,000-square-foot fitness venue, and the installation of the first artificial turf field and removable dome for a Canadian community college.

laugh, developing relationships and, most of all, supporting them in their quest to be the best of the best.

How have you seen college athletics change over the last few years?

In its formative years, the OCAA was primarily a male-oriented program. It was not until the early 80’s that women’s competition became part of the OCAA programming. Over the years, the OCAA expanded its activities. The Ontario Colleges Committee on Campus Recreation, operating under the umbrella of the OCAA, was developed to offer students extra-mural tournament play between colleges, and active living programs. In 1974 the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association was born and the OCAA joined in the competitions on a national level.

The growth of college athletics has seen more highly-skilled athletes, improved coaching, e.g. through the analysis of games that are broadcast online, upgraded facilities, enhancements made by the colleges when hosting varsity games and provincial championships to elevate the student athlete’s experience.

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FEATURES

BODY RESISTANCE

TRAINING

LARA VRONICK

O

ften we consider working out to include heavy machinery, a membership to a facility that has expensive equipment and having to leave the comforts of home to train.

However, whether you’re an elite athlete or a newcomer to fitness, using your body as the machine can help you reach your fitness goals.

That’s exactly how Mairi Coté, George Brown alumnus and former Guelph University swimmer, rebooted her competitive training lifestyle.

After leaving competitive swimming in 2011, Coté was looking for something that challenged her physically and that would get her back into shape.

“I found this workout on Pinterest and I started doing them at home just in my tiny apartment in Toronto,” says Coté.

Going online was the gateway to Coté taking her fitness seriously. And she’s not alone. Social media is offering a way to access workouts and health advice on a daily basis. Apps and Ebooks like those that Kayla Itsines offers are widely followed -over 5.8 million on Instagram aloneand are focused on body-weight training and simple moves. There are also growing programs or “cultures” developing online using videos on YouTube, like Ido Portal’s Movement with over 1.6 million views, that is focused on isolating muscle groups and building strength through slow and steady manipulations.

Ultimately, Coté started by working with what she had. Limited space and time meant using a training program she found online, and her body as the equipment.

However, despite their popularity and easy access, experts warn against turning to free and online programs for beginners that are not grounded in research. Jeff Watson, strength and conditioning coach for Durham College and the Univertiy of Ontario Institute of Technology said, “It can be dangerous and you have to be careful with things like YouTube.” Watson works with athletes at the post-secondary level using Elite Training Systems, a program started by Anaheim Ducks strength and conditioning coach Mark Fitzgerald.

Body-weight training is a crucial portion of the routine Watson works into his program.

“We focus on complete athlete training … In my mind they have to be able to control their own body before they can add any weight to it,” says Watson. “Our keys are to get people mov-

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ing properly and moving well so they’re set up to succeed.”

While Coté did see results working from what she found online, she wasn’t exactly a newcomer to physical fitness and it was competition that she realized she was missing.

Coté started to seek the guidance of a trainer, who she found on Instagram, @KatieCrewe, who became her coach and nutritionist. She began training for bodybuilding with Crewe and competing in fitness competitions such as the International Drug Free Athletics in the bikini division, which eventually led her to the more technically-driven, powerlifting.

Now a dedicated athlete, Coté has moved

s everyday life training. into a more structured routine. Though the athome weight training led her into a more custom program, others find that body-resistance is the basis for their dynamic training. Small boutique and specialized fitness centres, like Iron North Fitness in Ottawa, are working with bodyweight exercises in an intensive way.

Sam Armstrong, co-founder and trainer at Iron North believes body-weight training is an important aspect of not just working towards a fitness goal, or being an athlete, but also, simply, living.

“When you’re using body weight conditioning, that’s all functional training and that’s for everyday living life, in my opinion that just makes you more active,” says Armstrong. “It’s everyday life training. That is why it’s so huge to make it part of your training schedule.”

Body-resistance training is about advancing exercises by moving quickly and using varied intensities. Take the burpee for example (Armstrong’s favourite), a simple move that combines a jump and a pushup, when done correctly can be very effective.

Iron North Fitness operates under the philosophy of run, petal, lift, and stretch. Using these four principles and centering practice around them with varied intensities offer a simple and

functional exercise routine that could really be practiced anywhere.

Accessibility can be a challenge for any student let alone student athlete. Not only is it crucial to move intentionally and correctly, training in this way is about progression and having the motivation to use your body. It’s how Mairi got started and why many other people turn to training routines found online versus seeking a professional.

“I just thought, I could be doing this right now,” says Coté.

Body-resistance training is an accessible form of physical fitness. For starters, all you need is yourself rather than a machine or heavy equipment.

Watson urges that his student athletes are use body resistance as a means to stay on top of their game. “Students travel a ton with their team. That’s where I’d suggest strength bands.

They’re pretty inexpensive but you can get a lot of work done with them. They’re good to help recover and maintain their bodies when they’re on the road and they need to have these options to stay healthy. They’re in a bus, in a car. This is for sure a better way to stay active and strong instead of thinking they need to be in a gym,” says Watson.

Secondly, body-resistance training is inexpensive. It’s no secret students struggle financially. Many would not justify spending $60 a month on a gym membership. Using your own body allows access to physical activity at all times.

Some will do as Mairi did, start on their own and eventually turn to an expert like Katie Crewe or Sam Armstrong when they reach a plateau in their results, which does cost. But at the same time the motivation is a well worth investment. Anderson says that’s the one thing all of her clients have in common – they want to be there. They’ve committed to a lifestyle change and enjoy the physical challenge.

“There’s always an investment in anything.

You need to look into what you’re doing,” says Anderson. “You don’t have to have a personal trainer to learn how to do it properly. You need somebody to motivate you. You have to have the balance if this is what you want to do. Either put that into your budget, if that’s what it is, if you’re lacking in the motivation or just feel more comfortable having somebody there.”

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FEATURES

BACK TO

BASICS: BODY

RESISTANCE

OCAA trainers share simple and effective body resistance exercises.

Follow this circuit from 1 to 5 and repeat!

Humber’s Leanne Henwood -Adam advises the importance of knowing your abilities and limitations.

The fitness co-ordinator says to get the best work out it is necessary to look at all of the muscles and try to train them in a multitude of different ways, “so that your body dosen’t get used to any one thing and you’re not doing one repetitive motion all the time.” Which can lead to injury.

a

1

a

THE TRICEP DIP:

b

2 b

Using arms to raise and lower the body in front of the chair will improve strength in the upper arms.

THE SQUAT: Fitness experts agree that squat should be a go-to exercise.

Turner says when the squat is achieved at a level of competence add variables such as the jump 24 | sweat 2016

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FEATURES

3

a

University of Toronto’s strength and conditioning coach Darren Turner says the basic fitness toolbox should consist of seven to eight essential movements. They include squatting, lunging, deadlifts, push ups, overhead pulls, rows and pull ups. For core and stability he suggests a variation of planks.

In exercise Turner says there is always a risk of injury. But, he suggests to mitigate those risks with quality movements. Make sure there is adequate instruction, and work with loads that are appropriate.

b THE PUSH UP: There are many options for all levels of competency

4

a a THE PLANK: The basic plank is on the forearms and toes.Keep the body as straight as possible and the core tight.

Once the basic plank has been mastered, there are other more challenging options such as the side plank pictured above.

5

b

THE LEG LIFT: There are many options for all levels of competency

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FEATURES

FINDING BALANCE

BITES

Alicia Nauta./Flikr

Making sacrifices to strike a balance at school and sport is essential for student athletes CONNOR FRASER

O

CAA athletes are no stranger to the daily struggle with maintaining academics, a social life, and their contribution to their respective sport. Among all of the complications that come with a busy work-load, time management is one of the most difficult things that student athletes deal with.

Taylor Robinson, captain of the Fleming Knights men’s basketball team has made the dean’s list in nearly every semester he’s taken on a full course load but it hasn’t been easy. “Every morning is an early morning, and every night is a late night,” said Robinson. “The term all-nighter seems to be a regular situation I find myself in. This is because of the work load I carry and knowing the importance of trying to stay ahead academically.

“There is no time for me to be undisciplined or procrastinate academically,” says Robinson. “As soon as school is over, I’m immediately heading to the gym for athletics. It is a constant cycle of getting up early, attending school all day, devoting my night to basketball practices or games, and then after doing homework to the late hours of the night and morning.”

Despite the stress the late hours and the constant work load put on him, Robinson loves the game of basketball and he believes through plenty of hard work and determination that his goals can be achieved.

Denis Dervisevic, a business management student at Algonquin College, also plays basketball in the OCAA and takes every opportunity he can to do his academic work due to his limited time schedule.

“I always take advantage of doing homework on the road,” says Dervisevic. “I really don’t have any other choice because of the work load and how much time we dedicate to practice and games. On top of all that, I also work a part-time job.”

Robinson echoes the same dedication to his academics. “In regards to doing academic work on the road, I don’t think a single day has gone by where I haven’t been nose-deep in textbooks, or my laptop trying to stay on top of my work load,” said Robinson.

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“Whether it is a weeknight away game, or a weekend trip out of town, I am constantly studying, or making notes, doing readings.

Anything to keep me on top of my academics.”

As captain of Fleming College men’s basketball team, Robinson also feels the need to look after all his teammates.

“I feel as the captain, it is my responsibility to make sure everyone is doing well, and getting the help needed to be both successful on and off the court,” said Robinson. “There’ve been times where I have offered help with academics for teammates, regardless of the course or subject, because I want them to be successful.”

“There are members of our team who are fresh out of high school, and still very young and inexperienced to this different kind of lifestyle,” says Robinson. “With my experience, I want to offer whatever is necessary to make sure they mould and evolve into a successful student athlete.”

The countless hours spent exercising, practising, studying and playing for their respective teams, totally engulfs their social life.

Stephanie Dementjev plays volleyball for the Fleming Knights and finds her social life mostly revolves around her teammates as a result.

“One hundred per cent of my social life gravitates towards the team,” says Dementjev.

“If I’m not in class or studying I am spending time with my teammates on or off the court. Sadly this has taken a huge toll with my non-teammate friendships and my family. I would estimate I only see my mother twice a month.”

Dementjev lives with her sister who also plays on the team and she says they support each other through sport and academics.

These players say even with their full and ridged schedules they wouldn’t trade their time in varsity sport for anything.

“I knew what I was signing up for when I decided to play varsity basketball,” says Robinson.

“It’s a sport I love and have the most passion for.”

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FEATURES

CALLING

Referees are the enforcers on the field

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Sarah Ferguson

SARAH FERGUSON

he life of a referee can be unforgiving.

Every decision they make on the field comes under the scrutiny of both teams’ coaches, players and fans.

It’s a complicated dynamic. Officials are an essential part of the game but often their contributions aren’t noticed unless it’s in a negative view. You are far more likely to hear someone say “the ref blew the game for us” than “the ref did an amazing job today.” In such a critical environment, it’s hard to understand why anyone would want to be in that position to begin with, let alone stay there.

This is an especially interesting question at the college level. A job as an OCAA referee is more of a side-job than a day job. With only a couple of games a week, most officials have another career where they work during the week. Rugby officials Rose LaBreche and Carl Johansson both work for the federal government – the former in public safety and the latter at the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. Yet they are willing to give up parts of their weekend to enable youth games to take place.

“I pretty much work seven days a week because I ref Saturdays and Sundays generally and then I go to work during the week,” says LaBreche.

A number of officials begin the job in a sport that they play or used to play. Just like the players, they stay for the love of the game.

“When I first started refereeing it was to improve my abilities as a [rugby] player but now it’s more to be in the game still,” says Johansson. “Now I’m not playing due to a variety of reasons. I figure I can contribute more to the sport by refereeing.”

According to Sports Officials Canada’s (SOC) Code of Conduct, “officials must conduct themselves in accordance with the highest ethical standards and be a positive role model in behaviour and appearance.”

Being a referee isn’t just showing up to the field 10 minutes before game time and blowing a whistle. “My preparation starts before. I come up with a game plan that I want to focus on,” says Johansson. “I take the level of play into consideration. It’s something that helps promote my development as well as the development of

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G THE SHOTS the game and the players on the field.”

Typically, the officials will arrive at the venue up to an hour in advance to get warmed up, do the necessary pre-game checks as well as speak with the teams’ captains and coaches.

Then it’s game time.

One of the most beneficial aspects of the refereeing experience is the camaraderie that exists between the team of officials at any given game – and in any sport. “Pretty much everybody has each other’s backs. You know that they’ll back you up if something bad happens,” says Michael Chilvers, who plays baseball for the Durham Lords and refs hockey at the minor and junior levels. “You have a lot of respect for your partner.”

It’s a sentiment reflected by LaBreche. She officiates within the OCAA and at the international level – she was selected to be a referee at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“If you have people on the sidelines that you trust, it’s a lot easier to not have to worry about

the stuff that’s happening behind your back so you can really focus on where the ball is,” she explains.

At the college level, however, there are often not enough rugby officials in the area to form two teams of three and so managing the game is the sole responsibility of one person. “Typically we try to have assistants but it depends on availability of referees,” says Johansson. “It’s a young, fast, fit team and there is a minimum requirement for fitness of the referees so it can be difficult.”

The approach changes in these situations. A member from each team is given a flag and asked to help make out of bounds calls.

“In that instance, I rely on them [assistants from teams] only for line calls, I don’t rely on them for anything regarding tries,” Johansson explains. “I typically avoid asking them any questions. From my perspective, the thing that I have to do is be closer to the sidelines if it’s contentious, when there’s lots of bodies in the way.”

FEATURES

It’s a difficult feat at the college level. Games are competitive and tempers flare. Keeping an eye out for any inappropriate conduct on the field, the court or the diamond is an important part of the job. The safety of the players is paramount, as stated in the SOC code of conduct.

“In games like this it’s a little bit more difficult because they’re younger guys, generally newer to the game,” says LaBreche. “It can get scrappy so you have to make sure that you’re looking all over the place.”

To be a referee requires a thorough understanding of the game and confidence in calls, despite pressure from the players and the people on the sidelines. Making a decision based on what either coach is saying would damage one’s credibility as an official. Objectivity is essential. That doesn’t mean that mistakes don’t happen on occasion.

“We’re also human, we even know that we aren’t perfect,” says Chilvers. “But we are trying our hardest and when people realize that it makes our job easier.”

Sarah Ferguson

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SPORTS&

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media has become a key tool for sports teams and leagues for engaging fans. From the NBA to the OCAA, everyone in the industry is logging in

T

MICHAEL PICCOLI & ELLIE SABOURIN

oday’s sports fans have it very easy compared to previous generations. We live in a world where one can simply open their smartphone and find out everything there is to know about sports – whether it’s news, statistics, or scores. There is instant access to information on every level right in the palm of our hands. Social media has developed a growing role in the world of professional sports in this new age.

According to a study in Forbes from reporter Anthony DiMoro, statistics reveal that 20.5 per cent, of Internet users in the United States have Twitter accounts. This has grown since 2012, and it is projected to rise to 24.2 per cent by 2018. Fans are willing to react to sporting events on Twitter, which makes it a great outlet for organizations to interact with fans.

In a discussion with Jason Satur, who used to manage the Toronto Raptors Twitter account, he explained why Twitter was his go to platform with regards to sporting events. Satur believes that outside of award shows, TV premieres/finales, and elections, live sports may be the only real “appointment viewing” left and Twitter remains the best social platform to explore that reaction. With regards to the influence of fans, Satur explained that he has seen Raptor fans create enough awareness to get player Terrence Ross into the Slam Dunk contest and saw player Kyle Lowry voted into the All-Star Game. Satur believes that organizations should think of appropriate opportunities to engage their fans as “key stakeholders.”

The Toronto Raptors introduced #RTZ Tweet of the Night, which was designed as a fan incentive with prizing. This would occur regularly during home games and became a win-win

situation for the fans and the organization. He explains how their approach to social media has enabled tremendous growth in terms of relevant metrics in the last few years. The #WeTheNorth movement, along with the team’s recent success accelerated this growth. In terms of the growth of technology, Satur explained that the demand for in-game highlights have become the norm.

Fans want immediate content to be available online as soon as possible.

Although Twitter and Facebook are obviously connected to sports, Instagram and Snapchat are now being added to the mix as well. Teams have been creating Snapchat stories, where fans can watch teams practice and prepare for games.

Fans are also encouraged to Snapchat when they are at sporting events and their videos are sometimes included in the official team’s story. This creates a more involved experience for fans that are sitting at home to watch others experience a good time at the game. Maybe that will even make them want to attend a game next time.

We see this relationship between social media and sports at the Canadian college level as well. Ian Campbell, who manages the social media platforms for the Algonquin College Thunder, says that social media is essential in creating and maintaining school spirit because it reaches so many people. “In many ways, it has actually become a far more powerful tool than anything we do on campus in terms of hanging posters or setting up tables and talking to people,” says Campbell.

When promoting collegiate sports on social media, Campbell says that he tends to stick to Facebook and Instagram for results and highlights, and Twitter for live updates and coverage

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LIFE/HEALTH

of games. Campbell says that he finds the different platforms reach different demographics.

For example, the Thunder sports program employs student photographers to attend each game to post action shots of the athletes on Facebook. Campbell says that Facebook plays a particularly important role for some parents and relatives who don’t live in Ottawa. “I make sure we post lots of game photos and video clips.

Athletes’ families obviously want to know how their children, grandchildren, etc. are doing and many of them genuinely seem to appreciate the effort we make,” says Campbell.

Social media also provides an opportunity to interact with other sports organizations. For instance, Campbell says that most of the college teams follow and interact with each other on the web. “I think that helps build rapport and camaraderie amongst the players, coaches and fans,” says Campbell.

Social media also provides the opportunity to maintain a connection with athletes and fans that have graduated and moved on to start their post-collegiate lives. In past years, graduating would often mean disconnecting, but now, they can continue to follow and support the program whether they are still in the city or halfway across the world.

“As technology advances, the use of social media is no longer an option but a necessity,” says Campbell. “The world we live in

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has changed a great deal over the last couple decades and that has created opportunities and challenges as change always does. One thing is for certain, if you don’t respect the power of social media and make a commitment to utilizing it, you are doing your program a great disservice. It takes time and effort to hold people’s interest and build or maintain a connection, but it is worth it.”

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LIFE/HEALTH

FRINGE SPORT

AXE BATTLES ASIDE FROM BEING WILDLY FUN, AXE THROWING IS A GREAT STRESS RELIEVER HARRISON FIELD

I

magine; sitting through a long, eight-hour lecture. Having to eat a specific meal in order to stay within the confines of your diet, then imagine having to go to sports practice. There’s no time in there to get all of the frustration and anger out.

What if there was a sport that allowed players to get out all of the emotions that they have had to bottle up throughout the day?

Well there is, and it is spreading across the province with over a dozen locations in southern Ontario alone and more on the way.

The sport? Axe throwing. Now, I know what you are thinking: that isn’t a recognized OCAA sport and you would be right. The OCAA is organized by league, with each league having a very specific set of rules.

Axe throwing also has a league with a set of rules, although it isn’t nearly as structured, and is dependent on the location. That’s not to say that axe throwing doesn’t have any structure, organized locations have very specific rules in order to maintain safety.

“Whenever there is a group, they have to listen to a five-minute safety orientation from the coach,” said Jesse Gutzman, managing director of Bad Axe Throwing which has multiple locations in Ontario as well as some locations across Canada and spreading into the United States. “Two people have to throw at the same time and when someone is throwing, everyone else needs to be at least six feet away.”

In an interview with sweat, Gutzman said that there are two different axes used at the Bad Axe Throwing locations.

The first (and lighter) of the two is a 1.25 pound axe with a fibreglass handle and tape around the head. The second axe, is five pounds, but it has a long, steel neck.

“If it was going to become an official sport, they would likely use the five pound axe,” says Coach Stroker, one of the coaches of the Ottawa location.

Axe throwing relates to Canadian heritage, but more specifically the history of the lumber industry in Ontario. Wood was one of the main trades in Canada during the 1800s, done with timber axes.

“All of our locations are in Ontario. We started at home and are

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expanding from there,” said Gutzman. The most popular location is the recently opened location in Chicago.

Although axe throwers may not be running around the field, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t physically active. “[With the league] people can come every week and work on muscles that may not always get worked on elsewhere,” said Gutzman. “Largely shoulders and lower back should be the muscles that are worked on. Wrists shouldn’t be used at all.”

When throwing axes beyond recreation, it is scored based on how close you are to hitting the bullseye. When throwing as part of the league, there are no teams. Each person throws their own axes and all of the points are scored on their own.

I had an opportunity to try my luck at throwing axes and was able to see how much practice it took to hit the target.

When throwing, I had to step into the throw in order to make the axe stick into the board. The axe will only stay in the target if there was enough force behind the throw to make it stick in the wood and if it was rotating with the right amount of speed so that the blade was aimed at the target. If one of those factors was missing, then the axe wouldn’t stick.

There is also a certain level of strategy when it comes to axe throwing.

There are a few different ways to throw an axe, and each one has its own benefits and disadvantages.

The first throw is a two-handed overhead throw. The second is one-handed over the shoulder, with the final throw underhand.

It is easy to just throw an axe at a board and hope that it sticks, but to regularly get the axe to stay where you want it to takes a significant amount of practice.

Axe throwing isn’t just about throwing sharp objects at a board to deal with issues, it’s much more complex than that. The strategy and physical fitness that an athlete needs are on par with other sports such as golf, archery or curling. According to Gutzman, one of the reasons he believes it will become a regulated sport is because of the fitness aspects that it can provide.

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JUST PLAY

H

LIA RICHARDSON

is mornings start off dark and quiet. Everyone in his household is still sleeping at 6 a.m. The last thing he puts in his pre-packed duffle bag is his frozen Gatorade water bottle. This is how Darnell Kelly prepares for his recreational football league. He takes his sport very seriously.

Kelly says he repeats this very routine every morning because he couldn’t wait to get out on the field. He adds that football is a great way for him to keep his mind off things and stay in shape.

The 20-year-old rec football player from Seneca College studied in the child and youth worker program.

The difference, Kelly says, between people who choose to keep up with the sports they love versus those who train and aim to play professionally, is simply a label.

“All I ever thought about was playing football which I still played all throughout high school and college,” Kelly says. “I had the same drive as all the other players who knew they would make it to the NFL for sure.”

He’s been working at the Albion Youth Community Centre for nearly a year. What was once his most important goal stayed a dream, but also transitioned into more of a leadership role.

“Right now, I’m having fun with football. I wasn’t able to completely devote my time into going professional before, so I’m coaching kids now,” he says.

“I always keep in mind that there is still a chance for me to make it professionally. I won’t deny that I think about where this could take me, but I’m cool with whatever happens.”

Recreational sports coordinator of Durham College and University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Christie Atwood explains just how important recreational sports can be. Atwood talked about students and non-students of all ages putting in just as much work as an athlete training to potentially play for the Toronto Blue Jays or Raptors. One can possibly go as far as transforming leisure sports into a long-term career. She says one’s hard work shows their dedication to the sport they love.

Atwood says there are also a lot of physical, mental and social benefits of being a part of campus recreation. “It ranges from intramural, extramural and even drop-in sports. This can promote healthy eating to perform better not just on the field or court but in school as well,” Atwood says.

As well, recreational sports help to build character for international, local, on and off campus students. A recent pilot Nirsa.net study from the Official Journal of the National Intramural Recreational Sports Association foundation said 75 per cent of students use on campus recreation services such as gyms, workout equipment and sports equipment. They are also

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LIFE/HEALTH

THE BENEFITS OF RECREATIONAL SPORTS

involved with the sports programs provided by the school, according to the study.

NIRSA focuses on statistics for recreational sports. Seventy-nine per cent of students said they participated in sports activities with a sense of belonging.

She says while not everyone will make it to the big NHL, however, they are still able to continue on an athletic path that will enable them to participate in a fun, competitive, positive environment.

“People often fall into becoming mentors or coaches as they get older in rec sports. It’s just a matter of some people who play competitively until they can’t anymore because they love the lifestyle,” Atwood said.

Brianne Cohen, 20, plays for the University of Detroit on a scholarship but says in her mind, she’s playing for fun.

“Basketball saved me from student loans.

Schooling is free and it’s a great form of education because it’s a private school,” said Cohen.

To her, it’s all about the experience and getting the most out of life while she gets to play her favourite sport.

“Believe it or not, I didn’t care to go pro.

There was so much pressure growing up because I had schools looking at me and five schools watching to see if I were a good fit.”

Cohen says she has a lot of family and friends rooting for her and feels like she’d be letting them down if she doesn’t get drafted to the WNBA-which is not even her desire. She says sometimes, she wishes she could just play for fun.

“People used to ask me how I was doing after a recreational game. Now, every question is based on my next move for a professional career in basketball,” she says. “Deep down, I just want to play for the love of basketball.”

Coach Derrick Provo said becoming a professional football player was his biggest dream.

Provo once played football at Acadia University in Nova Scotia where he ended up coaching the defence years later.

He also had a pro-tryout with the CFL for the Hamilton Tiger Cats back when he started to pursue his football career.

“I don’t think I prepared myself enough to reach that goal of mine. I didn’t make it to the pro leagues because I thought about it and I dreamt about it but I didn’t breathe it,” says Provo.

Provo said he thought he had a plan and at the time, didn’t execute it.

He says he thought if he just played the game, then someone important would notice him and turn him into a star.

“Football is another avenue for me to carry on my mentorship to young men and women.”

His love for the game seemed to go hand-inhand for him which led him to coaching. For the past 14 years, Provo has been coaching Durham Dolphins. He said leadership, teamwork and interpersonal skills teach discipline and co-operation. These are many of the skills he’s taught to athlete students.

Sports, he says, whether recreational or professional, teach the youth life skills.

For Darnell Kelly the love of sports is enough to keep him on the field. courtesy

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PUMP UP THE VOLUME

marcos c./Flikr

CREATING PLAYLISTS TO OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE

I

n 2007 the New York Marathon made headlines when USA Track and Field announced a policy that barred participants from listening to personal music devices during sanctioned events. Organizers said the rule was created to ensure safety and to prevent runners from having a competitive edge.

Although no such ban exists in OCAA sports, sweat magazine published an article in November 2015 that showed music does motivate athletes to perform better. In the article, music therapist Cheryl Jones discussed the body’s response to musical stimulus and how it improves performance during games.

“It’s called auditory/motor coupling,” Jones explains in the article. “What that means is, when the brain is processing a steady beat, when

VICTORIA ST. MICHAEL the ear is processing that auditory input, the auditory neurons fire in time to that beat. The auditory neurons are linked to the motor neurons.

So what happens then is the motor neurons fire in time to the rhythm.”

According to Dr. Cathy Kerzner, an Ottawa-based clinical psychologist whose practice includes sport psychology, athletes can take it a step further. Kerzner says you can actually tailor your playlist according to the sport you play in order to optimize performance.

“There are a few reasons why music is helpful to athletes,” Kerzner says. “One has to do with arousal – or energy levels. Athletes want to go for an optimal arousal level. Music can really help people get into that sweet spot energy-wise. You want music whose energy match-

es the level of energy you’re trying to achieve.”

Kendra Cooper, 24, captain of the Sheridan College women’s soccer team, always plays music in the change room before a game to get the team pumped up. She prefers up-tempo, fast songs – specifically electronic tunes – to get the team on their toes.

“It’s the upbeat tempo that wakes people up before a game,” says Cooper. “It’s a game of quick movements and quick thinking, so we want to put on something that’s going to put everyone in that place where they’ll be able to perform on the field.”

Cooper says she wouldn’t listen to slower-tempo music before a game with the team.

“It wouldn’t really work, it kind of makes everyone drowsy,” says Cooper. “I guess if

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someone was figure skating they’d listen to something slower, but soccer is a fast sport. You need something upbeat. Where in something like football, you’re going to be tackling people, so you’d need something harder.”

Cooper’s theory was affirmed by 22-year-old Jake Boulding, a flanker on Georgian College’s men’s rugby team.

“I like 90s hip-hop, lots of Dr. Dre, lots of Ice Cube,” says Boulding. “It’s always been a genre that I like, but the rhythm is something that helps me focus before a game. I can really zone into those kinds of beats.”

Boulding is a fan of more aggressive beats when he’s getting ready to play. He says he’s not much of a fan of today’s lighter “party music” because it doesn’t let him dial in and focus.

“Football, rugby, wrestling, they’re all physical sports,” says Boulding. “You want something more aggressive. It would be hard to listen to something like nursery rhymes before you play rugby. You want something that’s going to get your heart pumping.”

According to Kerzner, choosing songs that have personal meaning can also affect the listener’s response.

“Think about the type of music you like as an individual, think about what you’re using it for, and match the intensity to the energy level you’re trying to reach,” says Kerzner. “Depending on what you’re doing, if it’s a game or a wind-down or a practice or even just a run, what you want to listen to might change.”

Curwin Elvis, 20, is a shooting guard on the Humber College men’s basketball team. He said there’s one song in particular that he loves listening to before a game because it takes him back to a moment when he feels their team performed at their best. That song is Big Rings by Drake and Future. Elvis recalled the time Big Rings came on during the warm-up for a game against the St. Clair Saints last year.

“The song came on and the whole atmosphere of our team changed,” Elvis recalls.

“People were carrying themselves differently, they were more energetic. We all kind of got into that mindset where we felt like we could do our best and we ended up winning that game by 18.”

Jack Lang, the 22-year-old captain of the Durham College men’s baseball team – has a different approach. Lang is in charge of getting the team’s walk-up songs ready for each game.

“Before each batter comes to the plate, they’ll pick a song they want to listen to while they’re walking up,” Lang explained. “Some players will listen to popular songs; some will listen to songs that will get them pumped up. I’ll pick something that will loosen me up and get me in the right mindset depending on how I’m feeling. This year I picked Cuban dance music.

It was really different and everyone had a lot of fun.”

Lang says he sometimes uses music to achieve a different effect before a game.

on and the whole atmosphere of our team changed.

“I do listen to music to get myself pumped up or amped up, but depending on the situation it can even calm me down,” says Lang. “Sometimes if I’m angry after a loss and we have to get back into it for the next game, I’ll listen to something that will get me into the mindset to tackle the game mentally as well as physically.”

The New York Marathon’s 2007 ban brought the potential benefits of music in athletics into sharp focus, prompting an explosion of research on the subject. A 2007 study by the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology on young tennis players showed that music can manipulate emotional state and various factors can influence

how the listener is affected, including tempo and meaningful lyrics. The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness published another study in 2008 that referred to a phenomenon called segmentation, which is the tendency to coordinate bursts of effort with specific segments of a track an athlete would find especially motivating. The study also showed it is beneficial to match the intensity of the workout with the tempo of your music, whether you’re winding up or winding down.

According to Kerzner, adding some more calming songs to your playlist to complement the “pump-up tunes” is extremely beneficial.

“Sometimes you need to be in the zone, but a little more quieted physiologically,” Kerzner said. “Sometimes, if you’re too amped up and you have the jitters, your muscles will be too tight, too tense. There’s something I always refer to in my practice called the ‘arousal curve.’

When you’re too high or low on the curve, you can either be too highly aroused or not aroused enough. You need to choose a song that’s going to get you right in the middle, and of course that all depends on the intensity level of the sport you’re playing.”

Durham Lord’s Jack Lang explains that in baseball there’s a tradition of playing music for each batter as he steps up to the plate. Allan Fournier

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SMART TECH

From monitoring your heart rate to improving your wrist shot, the latest in fitness and sports technology

I

yday life.

ALLYYSSA SOUSA-KIRPAUL

n the summer of 2016 Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse was challenged to run 100 metres on a dirt track similar to the one 1936 Olympic champion Jesse Owens raced on, wearing low-tech leather runners. In 1936 Owens won in 10.3 seconds, De Grasse did it in 11. Later that summer De Grasse, on a high-tech track wearing the latest in athletic gear, medaled in the 100 metres at 9.91 seconds.

The simple test looked at the role technology plays in sport. Today, athletes are able to record and evaluate more intricate information by themselves while seeing what they need to improve on instantly. They can keep track of their steps, pace, heart rate variability, heart rate recovery, resting heart rate, breathing rate, minute ventilation and much more.

Hexoskin smart clothing company in Montreal creates shirts that have cardiac sensors, breathing sensors and movement sensors inside them. The prices range from the $169 for a smart tank top without a recording device to $4,999. The recording device needed for collecting biometric data costs $230. It stores 150 hours of data, Bluetooth wireless communication and transmits data to an in-range cellphone.

CEO of Hexoskin, Pierre-Alexandre Fournier announced to sweat the high tech shirts will be worn in space by the Canadian space agency of NASA in 2018.

“We have many different types of athletes who are interested in Hexoskin, but in many cases we see athletes who have a scientific approach in their training program,” says Fournier.

Former Sheridan Bruins volleyball player and current Humber Hawks volleyball athlete, Marcel Phung says smart clothing would be beneficial for student athletes.

“It’s useful. It shows you what muscles are engaged during activity and say ‘oh I need to get better at this’ or maybe you’re getting worse at something,” says Phung.

Phung works out twice a week and practices five times a week for volleyball. He’s given stretch Dri-Fit for strength and conditioning days and separate shirts for practices. He

wouldn’t buy the shirts because they’re too costly, but says the school could supply it for the athletes so they could try it out and see how it could help them enhance their workout.

Fournier says Hexoskin can enhance an athlete’s workout. For instance they have fitness tests athletes can use to measure their resting heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV). He says HRV is important for an athlete to know because if they’re over training it won’t positively impact their performance.

“What’s interesting about Hexoskin is you can use it to cover many angles of your training.

In addition to the heart rate training that other products offer we monitor respiration rate and ventilation and this is the only product on the market that can do that,” says Fournier. “ It can monitor how long you sleep, how much time it takes you to sleep and overall quality of your sleep. When you’re training you need to optimize your nutrition and your sleep.”

Fleming College basketball player, Mark Pereira, trains 15 to 25 hours a week. Wearing proper performance gear is important for him to reach his goals; although, he would buy smart clothing if the prices were lower.

“I would buy it in the off season to know what muscles I’m using and what to target the most , what you use the most, know where your heart rate is at,” said Pereira, “ For $300 no, maybe in the 200’s range.”

Sheridan Bruins men’s basketball head coach and athletic director, Jim Flack, says he wants his team to not solely focus on smart technology, but wouldn’t discourage them if they want to wear it.

“If they thought it would make them better then I am all for it,” says Flack.

Beyond clothing, Toronto-based technology company Kiwi develops the software that collects the data for future wearable products through motion sensors compatible with different pieces of sports equipment.

To create a future wearable product Kiwi developer, Donald Koo, finds athletes who want to improve in their sport or training regime. The

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Hexoskin technology is capable in the gym to achieve a specific goal like the perfect bicep curl. For sports buffs, they hook up the athlete with sensors and the athlete continues to play their sport.

Some types of software Kiwi has developed are the smart lacrosse stick.

“We would have to go and collect data from lacrosse players so when we create our own algorithm they are accurate to what lacrosse actually looks like,” says Koo. “They form a set of motions we would record all that and then distill that down to our algorithms and it will determine what a proper serve should look like, a toss, what all these different things should look like. What peaks are most important like what part of the toss can someone improve on the most for example is their elbow out or in.”

Koo says Kiwi’s computer system stores information separately for each sport. Creating software for student athletes who want to improve on a technique in their sport.

“A smart basketball would be beneficial to help guys improve on shooting and dribbling the ball. I would buy one,” says Pereira.

Flack says he’s seen a lot of smart equipment that look impressive, but in the end doesn’t do much for the athlete.

“I’ve seen one a couple years ago that measured the force of your dribble to see how equal your left and right arms are,” says Flack. “It was

neat to see, but I didn’t see how it would translate into improving that for the athlete.”

Flack remembers one smart wearable device he saw in 1984 that impressed him. When he played on York University’s championship basketball team one of the team players that played center stood up too straight and didn’t bend his knees enough. The sports psychologist at that time created a device that beeped every time he stood too straight to remind him to bend his knees.

A new player in wearable technology is the Ear-O-Smart. It attaches to the back of any pair of earrings. T Ravinder Saini and his team of scientists and engineers had to make sure it was light and comfortable enough to wear throughout the day.

The Ear-O-Smart will be launching soon.

This tiny tech was developed in June 2014 when he he studied at the University of Windsor.

“Our targeted market is for females because there are less products for them out there to buy. Most products are unisex in a male dominated market there are bulky, plastic bands or smart watches,” says Saini. “What if that doesn’t go with your lifestyle or outfit so what we created is something they can

wear in everyday life with their outfits.”

The Ear-O-Smart monitors heart rate, steps, calories burned, it tells provides feedback about your goals and how well the user is doing at achieving those goals.

“For example if your goal is fat burning it’s not good to work out at a high cardio range so it’ll help you optimize your workout session so you can optimally achieve your goals. All the feedback and data collected from the sensors will go to the app to optimize your sessions,” says Saini, the app is compatible with IOS and Android.

Though useful coach Flack says this technology would be better suited for the Olympics or Pan Am games because the students athletes just aren’t ready for it.

“Sports are an art it’s not science. People with a science background think they can break down sports into science, but they just can’t,” says Flack.

Ear-O-Smart

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PERFORMANCE BOOSTERS

Whether in the form of powder or pills, safe use of protein supplements can benefit athletes

ERIAN AMOR DE LOS REYES

S

upplements exist for athletes who want an extra edge as they go for the gold, or for Average Joes who need a conveniently packaged way to get nutrients. For many coaches, the convenience gives them peace of mind to allow their athletes to use protein supplements.

Professor of the School of Kinesiology at Western University Peter Lemon remarked at the increased performance his women’s rowing team showed in their games after introducing supplementation. “Your needs go up when you exercise regularly at a high intensity,” Lemon says. He incorporated two extra protein and carbohydrate snacks a day in addition to the team’s regular intake of whole foods.

Lemon, whose studies in supplementations and its benefits date back to the 1970s, says, “in over three weeks, their performance and body composition improved.”

With his background and a Ph.D., Lemon wants to remind any and all who use supplementation that it should not replace whole foods in their diet. He says that nutritional supplementation is simply taking concentrated forms of nutrients that have proven to be beneficial for performance. This may take any form of drinks to bars and pills.

“There is a place for supplements for sure, but they can’t replace food – food has to be the main component for athletes,” says Lemon, ac-

knowledging that supplementation can assist in performance or even health.

It’s not just the over consumption of supplements that worries Lemon. He says that there are very real dangers while acquiring supplements that aren’t up to health standards. Due to how large the industry has become, there can be many leeches.

“Because supplementation is a multi-billion dollar industry, there’s a lot of companies making products that aren’t the highest quality and they’re trying to get a share of the market,” says Lemon. “Some of these are even contaminated with substances that could cause health problems or might result in a positive doping test for the athlete.”

It seems half the battle is educating athletes on finding the right supplement for them and Lemon says it could be as simple as looking at the label and looking for the company’s guarantee. What athletes should look for in finding the right supplement for them may not be found in the price tag.

Legitimate companies that sell supplements over the counter or at a health food store will have a seal of approval or a guarantee that it will not contain illegal substances. “The danger comes when you purchase something over the

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internet. Someone may have made this [supplements] up in their basement or in their garage and they’re selling it over the internet,” warns Lemon.

Athletes need to be wary of supplements that can be sold from abroad or the United States without strict regulation like food. According to Lemon, the athlete is responsible for what they take, and if not careful, athletes could very well be disqualified from competition as well as be ostracized and be labeled a cheater.

Humber College’s strength and conditioning coaches Nicholas Gray and Joseph Latina recently partnered with Biosteel and trust their use of the highest quality ingredients. “The protein that we are recommending for our athletes is the Biosteel Advance recovery protein as well as the plant based protein, for the reason that they’re both NSF and Informed Choice certified,” says Gray.

Both Informed Choice Certified and the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) are international governing bodies that ensure any protein supplements are created in a sanitized condition.

According to Gray, there are many benefits to the partnership, including the plantbased protein that they recommend to athletes.

Since whey protein is taken from dairy and concentrate, many athletes who are either lactose intolerant or vegan cannot use some supplements.

The partnership provides a safety net for athletes as they are assured products that are certified. According to Informed Choice Certified’s website there are 75 supplements that are certified – Biosteel being one of them.

“We want our athletes to understand why they’re taking things and the reasoning behind those things, and the fact that this is a supplement. So we want them to understand that this isn’t your meal,” Latina says.

According to Latina, there is no difference from sport to sport with the use of supplements, however, he has noticed that athletes who use more supplements tend to have greater success than those who use less.

The Biosteel partnership with Humber College is fairly new, so it’s hard to measure the extent of the benefits that whey protein has given athletes. Teresa Arnini, coordinator of Humber College’s High Performance Centre, says that the demand has risen since the partnership.

“I’m beginning to start to feel that they are realizing themselves the benefit. We start seeing the athletes requesting it,” says Arnini.

for supplements for sure, but they can’t replace food – food has to be the main component for athletes.

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COACH’S CORNER On the OCAA’s 50 years of passion LINDA STAPLETON

I

t’s probably a good thing to have coaching experience before writing an article for “Coach’s Corner”. Does my single victory with the Seneca Sting Women’s Soccer team count, as I stepped in as coach following the ejection of both my coaches?

As we celebrate the OCAAs 50th season this year, I prefer to offer reflections gleaned over my 39 years of involvement in one of Canada’s leading sport conferences and the people that make it so.

What has changed most significantly since the early days of the OCAA?

As an organization of college sport leaders that gathered around kitchen tables, the success of the OCAA began and continues with the exceptional leadership we have received from athletic directors, executive directors and college staff that volunteer as convenors and committee members. Over the span of 50 years, the passion demonstrated annually by college staff to support their athletes and coaches is unparalleled.

Technology has changed the way we work. It is a major element that has significantly and positively impacted so many aspects of the game.

In my rookie administrative year, the main tools

for communication were the telephone and the typewriter (which for me required an ample supply of carbon papers to duplicate copies and a pail of white out to correct all of those typos).

As personal computers entered the scene, athletic departments and the OCAA office harnessed that power and that of the emerging software to communicate more effectively and instantaneously, to capture league results and expand the very data rich aspect of player statistics.

More data supported coaches in player development and game preparation. It also allowed the OCAA to recognize their athletes based upon solid objective criteria and award them accordingly. Partnering with companies like Krossover provides a home for broadcasted games giving coaches and athletes unprecedented access to every team’s game film across the province.

It has also revolutionized scouting. Instead of every coach travelling across the province with cameras to obtain video of their opponents for game prep, coaches can scout from their living rooms. Athletes today can receive individualized video isolating their performances and execution of skill within two days rather than the old standard of two weeks.

Many member schools are also doing a tremendous job of webcasting their home games and we have seen several schools raising that bar each year: Humber’s first webcast of the OCAA Cross Country Championships; Seneca’s first of simultaneously webcasting multiple badminton courts at the OCAA Badminton Championships.

Digital photography, video clips from cell phones combined with social media have provided a powerful mechanism to promote games and provide immediate results. It can also capture images of negative behaviors which reflect on that individual, the team, the school and the association. As our provincial laws, college policies and sport organization rules have become more defined with respect to harassment, dis-

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crimination, bullying, sexual assault, drinking etc, social media can capture images of student athletes, or fans that may be used as evidence in determining if laws or college policies have been broken. Today’s social media certainly puts people and their behaviors on instant display, both good and bad, but from my perspective, I see much more evidence of celebratory images of powerful and skilled student athletes, constantly achieving new heights.

There have also been most welcomed advances in team uniforms. Buh-bye unbreathable, pungent triple polyester knit and short shorts. These have been replaced by technological fabrics with a high wicking content that allow for cooling body temperatures which promotes high performance.

Has college support for athletics changed?

Judging by the growth of seven members colleges to twenty-nine colleges and universities, I’d say no. OCAA athletic directors and their college administration are to be applauded for their continued support of sport programs despite the obvious fiscal challenges especially felt by our smaller member institutions. From our humble beginnings, colleges who used high school gymnasiums as their home, have now built their own sport venues. Fifty years later we are seeing a re-commitment to replace and improve those original facilities. Niagara, Fleming, Mohawk, St. Clair and Conestoga have led the way in the resurgence of brand new facilities, while Georgian, Centennial, Sault and Humber have added or renovated existing facilities. Redeemer and Algonquin set the bar

by adding artificial turf fields to their operations followed by Fleming, Centennial and Seneca.

Beyond facilities, OCAA members have seriously committed to supporting the health of the athlete. The old dismissive, “You just got your bell rung” is no longer a part of our sport environment. Certified athletic therapists, required at OCAA competitions, implement province wide concussion protocol, the first to do so across Canada.

What’s changed in 50 years for student athletes? Certainly today’s student athletes are much more informed about their post-secondary educational and sport options. Initially created for a local community, community colleges were focused on career ready education.

One year certificates and two and three year diplomas meant student athletes were local and stayed one to two years. Diplomas, Degree programs and laddering now promotes pathways from colleges to universities and vice versa, so today’s OCAA student athlete can come directly from high school, from university or as a mature student. Special partnerships between colleges and universities have created collaborative and / or integrated Degrees. This extended academic life of a student became the impetus behind the OCAA’s successful lobbying for five year athletic eligibility.

With so many academic choices student athletes must also consider which school will be the best athletic fit for them. Recruitment is definitely a new animal and perhaps one that needs to be tamed. The practice of offering athletic scholarships is definitely one that has evolved to

a regulated practice. “Shopping around” is definitely the new norm for recruits in a very competitive post-secondary community. To manage this growing practice, the OCAA has developed rules and parameters for coaches within the Code of Ethics. And testing an NCAA style practice, the OCAA has offered recruits the option of signing a Letter of Intent to verify their agreement with an athletic department and to prevent recruits from falsely declaring their intent.

Student athletes now have more sport choices than they did in 1967. While we have lost some of the inaugural sports like tennis and table tennis, new sports like softball, baseball, rugby, cross country have been added. In fact many colleges in the OCAA offer 17 varsity teams.

Student athletes must still manage school, part time work, sport, family and friends. In most cases, both exhibition and competitive formats have expanded. This together with the expectations to stay fit for try outs and have practice sessions over the summer add to the demands of today’s athletes.

1967 or 2017, the OCAA and its’ athletic staff continue to provide outstanding sport experiences and services to support the success of our student athletes. By pushing each other we create a healthy, competitive organization where student athletes from all members can grow and learn and compete with the best in Canada.

Happy 50th Anniversary, OCAA!

LINDA STAPLETON

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CHAMPIONSHIP

FANSHAWE

CAMBRIAN

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S

CROSS COUNTRY

NIAGARA

GEORGIAN

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S

GOLF

WOMEN’S RUGBY SEVENS

HUMBER

Congratulations to the fall 2016 winners!

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WOMEN’S RUGBY

WOMEN’S SOFTBALL

MEN’S SOCCER

FLEMING

DURHAM

HUMBER

GEORGIAN

ST. CLAIR

ALGONQUIN

MEN’S RUGBY

MEN’S BASEBALL

WOMEN’S SOCCER

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OFF THE

BENCH

Confederation College cross country athlete of the year and team MVP shares advice on how to strike a work, life, and sport balance

S

GREG KILROY

tudent athletes face many challenges that most college students do not have. These challenges include the classic balancing of athletic training with academics, but also staying organized, focussed and healthy. However, when balance is compromised, it is important to learn how to redeem ourselves and develop skill sets to get back on track.

Perhaps the biggest lesson I have learned from my student athletic career is the importance of being organized. If I do not type in my calendar when assignments, practices, and competitions are due, then there is a strong possibility I will overlook them. Not only have I found keeping a calendar to be effective, but having alerts set a week in advance of assignments can avoid the stresses associated with procrastination. My teammates even post calendars for four months in a visible location in order to constantly monitor progress and to be aware of upcoming workouts and events.

The most difficult aspect of maintaining balance this year has been focus. Focus is easy to maintain when you have a major event to train for, wonderful weather, and encouraging teammates. It is when you are on your own, grinding it out in the wetness of fall, unsure of what your next competition will be is when focus can be lost. At times like these trusting in your coach can help restore the motivation and focus needed to be successful.

This year my coach and I have worked on constantly re-evaluating my training program and making adjustments based on my fitness.

We have chats that last for hours and basically discuss what motivates me to train and finding strategies that constitute balance.

So far I am working on avoiding endless time on my phone and computer, and instead focusing on the essentials: getting the

workout in everyday regardless of external factors, stretching, eating healthy and getting enough sleep. The biggest mistake that I have made in my past is panicking when training does not go as planned and implementing drastic changes. Major modifications of a training program does not typically lead to success. Instead, sticking to the original plan with small adjustments, if needed, will lead to the best athletic results.

As student athletes we are oftenlooked upon as “models of health.� Yet, it is the busy and taxing lifestyle that we choose can often result in fatigue and sickness. It is important for student athletes to not over commit and ensure that they are staying hydrated and eating healthy. It sounds simple; but throw in a 40 hour week of classes, work commitments, social gatherings and suddenly these basic principles become difficult to achieve.

Being healthy does not only apply to our bodies, but to our minds as well. Perhaps the greatest tool for achieving balance is your community. Confederation College has been there to support me in my athletic pursuits in cross country running, but most importantly academically as well. Whenever I feel balance is being challenged, I have the support of my teachers, coaches, friends, coworkers, and school to help me get back on track.

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